Coating sheet metal.



E. G. LINDHE.

COATING SHEET METAL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12, 191:.

Patented May 23,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET @Mniar:

9 of. QI Md .6. Z3 12 M Mb 0mm w an ERIC G. LINIDHE, OF NEW YORK, Y.

' COA'JLING SHEET METAL.

illJWTJH-d ll.

Application-filed June 12, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERIC Gr. LINDHE, a

subject of the King of Sweden, residing in the city of New York, boroughof Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Coating Sheet Metal, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention relates tothe treatment of metal sheets preparatory tojoining them in superposed condition in the production of shims orspacing-plates.

In U. S. Letters Patent No. 969,709, dated Sept. 6,1910, is shown anddescribed a shim of this character composed of a number of thinsheetsjoined on their adjacent faces toforrn a unitary mass which may bereduced in thickness when required by stripping one or more sheets fromsuch mass.

The object "of the present invention is to provide apparatus in whichthe cleansing of the sheets, coating with. sollder or other binder, andthe application of a covering adapted to protect the surfaces fromoxidation, may be performed rapidly and economically, with the necessaryuniformity of deposition.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction andarrangements of parts by which the above objects are at tained, to behereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification and show theinven tion as it has been carried out in practice.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the entire apparatus. Fig. 2 is acorresponding vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a plan view ofthe same. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section through the cleaningtank as on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig.5 is a similar view through themelting-pot, taken on the line 5-5 in Fi 2. Fig. 6 is an end elevationof the feedlng "mechanism, with certain portions omitted. Fig. 7 is anend view of the melting p'ot. Fig. 8 is an elevation of a pair offeeding rolls or pulleys. Fig. 9 is an end view showing a detail of thefeeding mechanism. Fig. 10 is a corresponding plan view. The remainingfigures are on a larger scale. Fig.,11 is an elevation ofthe-cutting-ofl mechanism. Fig. 12 is a corresponding vertical section.Fig. 13, is

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, 191%. Serial No. 632,708.

an elevation of the mechanism employed for applying the non-oxidizingcovering. Fig. 14: 1s a corresponding vertical section.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

The material to be treated may be understood to be thin brass which isfed or drawn from a roll, passed through an acid or other cleaning bath,then coated on both faces with a binder of soft solder, and theprotecting covering cut off in the desired short lengths.

When piled for the uniting treatment, the coated sheets are alternatedwith uncoat'ed sheets, the solder on both faces of the former beingsuflicient to join them to the latter, and therefore the apparatus isarranged to be easily changed for a run of material through the cleaningbath, heated, but not coated, and the protective covering applied asbefore and the strip cut to lengths. -As the material is extremely thinit is preferably fed by drawing it through the several parts of theapparatus to the point of cuttin o l is .a frame or table carrying atone end notched standards A receiving screwthreaded rods B extendingthrough nuts B and having conical heads B adapted to engage the oppositeends of a tubular core M on which the'roll M of thin material is closelywound, and thus hold the latter in position to be drawn off by revolvingbetween the conical heads B serving as centers, and bymeans of the nutsB permitting the tension to be controlled.

Mounted in the table A is a tank or receptacle (3 containing dilute acidor cleaning solution, and provided with a cover C having on its underface a depending frame C in which is supported two transverse tubes C Cone, C is slotted longitudinally along its upper face, and the other, C,similarly slotted along its lower face, and-both loosely filled withwickin which protrudes through the slots, and at t e ends of the tubesdips intothe acid. The wicks serve to apply acid to both faces of thethin metal strip which enters beneath the rear end of the cover C passesover and in wiping contact with the wick in the tube C, under the tubeC", across its wick, and emerges beneath the front end of the cover andpasses over a rod C to the applied; the strip is then 25 Each has alongitudinally arranged fin D melting-pot D mounted in the same table A.

The melting-pot is received in a holder or heating-chamber D and isheated by suitable gas-burners D orotherwise. The pot is provided with acover I) having depending arms'd on its under face in which aresupported a transverse rod D and transverse tubes D D.' This coveracts'to retain the heat of the molten bath immediately over the surfacethereof, so that the metal strip moistened by the cleaning solution isheated at its surface before being immersed in the molten solder,which-removes the cleaning solution and coats the freshly cleanedsurface out of contact with the air. 'The strip from the rod C passesbeneath the rear edgeof'the cover D and thence under the rod D lyingbeneath the surface of the melted solder and on leaving,

the latter passes beneaththe tube D and over the tube D; the tubes D Dare preferably of copper :and are heated-by radiation from the meltedmetal and by-currents Copper is preferred for the tubes 5D. D, becauseof its go-odzheat."conduct ingprops.

ertiesf whi'ch serve in" keepingup the tem- 7 If the stripis not'tobe.coated sequentlycut'up into lengthsto .be piled "between two coatedlengths, it-is ledthrough,

of hot products of combustion passing through them from I theheating-chamber.

preferably of aluminum; serving as a scraper, the on the tube Dprojecting downwardly and the other on the tube D"- upwardly. d is a.tubular .connection' from the heatingchamber D as seen in Fig. 5,

heat from the I said chamber passes-beneaththe' tube D and'over theSurplus solder is removed by .the 'finsD' and falls back into" the"pot,-.the fins" remainlng' clean by'reaso'n of the 'fact that solderwill not adhere readily to aluminum.

perature of, the fins or scrapers. 'i

but i the cleaning'bath as beforelbuti'passes immedlately belowthe coverof .thejmeltingpot, and not through the bath of v meltedv metal. The,utility of passingthe material below the cover without immersing is thatsome stripsa're not tobe coated withsolder but are to ,lieibetween twosolder-coated sheets, such sheets are drawn through below the cover toheat them or rather the strip to be cut into sheets, so that they willbe'warm enough to melt the resin and thus protect their cleanedsurfacesfrom oxidation, ready. to join the soldered surfaces by theadjacent sheets. In' either case it is necessary to apply a covering orfilm to protect the surface against oxidation and 1 thus insure uniformadhesion .over the entire surfaces when the solder .is melted tounitethe mass. This protection may be attained by the use of variousmaterials; thin cakes or plates E of resin suitably mounted to contactwith both faces of the strip as it is drawn between them while stillwarmwill serve the purpose. As the strip is very thin it is extremelydiflicult to guide, and it has been found preferable to mount the platesor cakes E with liberty to follow the lateral movements ofthestripsrather than attempt to control the latter.

E is a vertical frame or flat pocket adapted to receive loosely the twocakes E -E,

mounted on grooved rollers E running on a track E on a supporting plateE having apertures e 0 adapted to receive fixed horizontally extendedrods on which the plate is carried. A transverse slot e in each face ofthe frame E receives the strip M with one cake above and the other belowit and the cakes are pressed against the surfaces by a loop or belt Elying upon the upper edge of the upper cake and beneath the lower edgeof lower cake with the bight E". at each side' passed over a pulley Emounted on the frame E and partially encircling a free pulley. E fromwhich is suspended a tension weight E.

' E E are braces on the supporting plate E1" and having rollers' E ontheir upper ends arranged to roll. upon the upper portion of the forwardface of thejframe and permit the latter to move laterally, and E E aresimilar braces fastened to the rear face of the plate E with-their upperends lying against the rear face of the frame. Thus arranged the stripis pulled through the slots e? between the. adjacent edges of theresin-cakes. with its temperature high enough to melt the .resin 'slowlywhile in TCOIltitCt therewith and thus completely cover "both faces -ofthe strip with athin film sufiicient to protect the surfaces against oxidizing or. harmful results'of handling. The belt E and its weights Eserve to hold .;the cakes yielding'ly against the strip with uniformpressure and feed-"them toward "ea-ch other as they are slowly consumed.,"The-rollersjl l permit the frame to move laterally in accommodatingitself to "the movements of the thin stri 'M.

I The rods on which the p ate E ed may be those marked A A on'the frontof the ,table' A,..to be'used when the strip is tobe cleaned and warmedbut notcoatis mounted with solder, and .is' therefore mounted near themelting-pot so that the strip will retain suflici'e'nt heat to affectthe cakes, or, in the case of the coatedfistrip. in which thetemperature is higher, theqrods may be those marked A A located at agreater distance from the melting-pot on the stand A to allowthetemperature to lower enough to harden the coating before passingbenieaeta tween the cakes. The location and length of the rods A Apermit the frame E to be adjusted to present the strip in either case atthe desired temperature. The supporting plate 1E and pocket or framethereon may be easily transferred to either pair of rods as foundnecessary or desirable.

The stand A carries the feeding and cutting-ofl mechanisms. Experimenthas demonstrated the great difficulty of guiding strips of the extremelythinmaterial used, two one-thousandths of an inch being the preferredthickness, and the impracticability of running such material in straightpaths by means of gripping rolls. The feeding mechanism shown comprises.two pairs of horizontal pulleys F F mounted in standards A A with a beltF running on the uppermost of each pair and a similar belt F running onthe lowermost; the'pulleys', F F of each pair are separated suflicientlyto avoid gripping the strip M between them, as are also the adjacentfaces of the belts. The midlength portion of the upper member or stretchof the lower' belt F is slightly raised and supported on a plane bed Fhaving its ends curved slightly downward, and the lower member of theupper belt F is pressed downward toward the bed F by rollers F F mountedin pivoted arms F F drawn downward by springs F into contact with theother belt member. The belts travel at the same speed and are driven bya shaft F through a pinion, not shown, in mesh with a gear-wheel F onthe shaft of the lower forward pulley F which in turn is in mesh with asimilar gear-wheel F on the shaft of the upper pulley F of-the samepair. The strip M is engaged frictionally by the fiat adjacent surfacesof the belts, thus lightly grasping the strip between broad areas of themoving belts which are flexible enough to be unaffected by slightsurface corrugations or irregularities in the strip and successfullycarry the latter forward in the straight path of the belts even thoughthe edge of the strip may be waved or otherwise irregular, with a gripof Suficient force to pull the strip from the roll at the rear end ofthe apparatus and through the various parts in which it is treated.

The cutting-off mechanism is at the forward end of the stand Af andconsists of a fixed lower knife G mounted on the stand with its cuttingedge flush with a rearwardly extending shelf G and a slide G? mounted onvertical pillars A A, carrying a spring presser-foot G and the upperknife Gr. At the top of each pillar A is an extension or stud A ofsmaller diameter, encircled by a helical spring G abutting at the upperend against the interior of the slide and having sufficient strength toraise the latter and its attachments.

G G are links pivoted one oneach side tothe slide G near the top, andpivotally connected at the lower ends to levers G Gr pivoted to thestand at 9. Each lever carries a roller G in the path of a nose orprojection G on a cam-disk G mounted on the shaft of the forward upperpulley 18. At each revolution the projections G strike the rollers G anddepress the levers which through the links G draw the slide G downward,the spring presserfoot momen tarily arresting the forward movement ofthe strip M during the descent of the upper knife G by which the stripis severed; the end of the thin strip between the contacting portions ofthe belts F F and the presserfoot G may buckle slightly during thiscutting-off movement but as it is almost instantaneously performed isnot injurious. The slightly buckled end immediately straightens by itsown elasticity and passes on between the knives to be cut off at thecompletion of the next revolution. The severed length is received in achute A and directed to any suitable'receptacle or to a traveling apron,not shown, to be delivered for further treatment.

Runs are made by the apparatus to produce a desired number of lengths ofcleaned, solder-coated, and covere d material, and is then changed, asbefore described, to produce the desired number of lengths of.

other spacing-plates may be cut by dies or otherwise.

In the present apparatus the steps of the process include, in one case,cleaning in a suitable bath, heating to a degree sufficient to melt thematerial serving as a protecting covering, applying such covering, andcutting into lengths. In the other case or arrangement the stepscomprise, the cleaning, coating with solder, and while heated aplyingthe protective covering, and the tutting-ofi.

I claim 1. The process of coating a sheet which comprises applying amolten coating material to the strip, heating the strip thereby, andsoftening a second material by contact with the heated, coated strip toform a second coating.

2. The process of coating a sheet which comprises applying a cleaningsolution to the surface of the sheet, coating -the strip with moltenmetal, and then applying a second coating material by contact with theheated strip to soften said second material and spread it over saidfirst coating.

3. The process of coating a strip which comprises applying a moltencoating to said strip, cooling the coating slightly, and then llllttapplying a second coating material by contact with the strip to softensaid second material and spread it over said first coating.

4. The process of applying a composite coating to a metal sheet whichcomprises coating the sheet with a molten material of relatively highmelting point and then fusing a second coating of relatively low meltingpoint on said first coating by the residual heat'of said first coating.

5. The process of applying a composite coating to a metallic sheet whichcomprises coating the sheet with a molten metallic material of arelatively high melting point and heating the strip, partially coolingsaid coating, and then fusing a second coating of non-metallic materialof relatively low melting point by the residual heat of said firstcoating. 6. The process of applying a composite coating to a sheet whichcomprises applying a cleaning solution to the surface of the sheet, thencoating the sheet with a molten material of relatively high meltingpoint to remove the cleaning solution and heat the" strip, partiallycooling the coating, and then formmga second coating of lower meltingpoint by fusing it on said first coating by the residual heat of saidfirst coating.

7. The process of cleaning and coating a metal sheet which comprisesapplying a cleaning solution to the sheet, heating the sheet, and thenapplying a coating material to the sheet while moistened by the cleaningsolution to simultaneously remove the impurities and coat the sheet.

8. The process of cleaning and coating a metal sheet which comprisesapplying a cleaning solution to the sheet, heating the sheet whilemoistened by the cleaning solution, and then coating the sheet whileheated and moistened.

9. The process of cleaning and coating -metal. sheets which comprisesapplying a cleaning solution to the surface of the sheet,

heating the sheets while moistened by the cleaning solution, andsoftening the coating material by contact with the heated strip to forma coating therefor.

10. The process of treating continuous strips of thin metal, whichconsists in cleanby the heat thereof softening the same and causing itto adhere while in such condition to the surfaces of said strips.

12. The process of coating sheet metal which comprises passing the sheetthrough a bath of molten metal of relatively high melting point,partially cooling the coating passing the sheet through a second coatingmaterial.

of relatively low melting point and utilizing theresidual heat of thefirst coating operation in effecting the, second coating operation.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I afiix mysignature, in presence of two witnesses.

ERIC G. LINDHE. Witnesses:

CARLTON N. ABORN, CHARLES R. SEARLE.

